Monday, October 22, 2007

Fun stuff from my Grandma's book

Reading my Grandma's book "Lest we forget" about homesteading in Wyoming in 1934, I found a few things I thought were interesting. One is the following poem:

How happy am I on my government claim
Where I've nothing to lose and nothing to gain
Nothing to eat and nothing to wear
Nothing from nothing, is honest and square
But here I am stuck and here I must stay
My Moneys' all gone and I can't get away
There's nothing that will make a man hard and profane
Like starving to death on a government claim


She does not say where it came from, just has it added in the text. They were hit hard by the dust bowl, and had to find a new place to start. She also talked about how they found their claim, and how she felt when the found it;

"We went west and followed the power line about 20 miles. There we saw or lonely little 'chicken house' in the sage brush. My, how good that sage smelled. The children looked around in bewilderment. We let Old Shep out of his cage on top of the trailer and he scared up a rabbit first thing. But this was our place -- all our own -- and I didn't mind looking four ways and seeing nothing but sage and rocks and the distant mountains covered with snow. This was my land!"

the land they had received was 80 acres with two buildings, one was 12 x 20, and the other was 14 x 24. They lived in the 14 x 24 with two kids age 3 and 4, and one old dog. Four people in that small space. measure that out in your house, see how small that really is. The other house was for my Grandpas brother. They did all their daily living in that one room, and thought it was paradise. They had to clear the fields to plant, dig irrigation ditches for water, the coal range cook stove kept the house warm. She ads, "I put the table in the middle of the room, and there was one way ONLY traffic around it. We were snug and happy." Amazing! Later, when they built a larger home, this first home indeed became the chicken house. I LOVE reading this book, its unreal to think of the things they had to do to survive, we are so spoiled today. As I continue to read, I learn so much more about my Grandparents, and I love every minute! I'll post more fun stuff as I read, and old photos too!

Enjoy everyday day, it truly is a gift.
:)
Christy
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